The two apostles stood in the small room. It's darkness illuminated by the fireplace.
'Shyra is a sore topic for us... Why would he suddenly ask about her?' the Oracle of Earth wondered, feeling that there was more to it.
It made the older man slightly regret his own character that always prevented him from prying.
'But then again... Shyra is a problem that concerns all of the Oracles of our Religion' he nodded decisively and then took a deep breath.
"Your question… Has something happened more recently that I need to know about?", Ylvis then asked without turning around, looking into the fire. Despite knowing that it's a normal question, he still somewhat felt ashamed.
"Necromancy" the blonde simple said, not failing to notice the blush that now dusted the other man's pale cheeks.
The information caused the other man's eyes to widen.
"She is apparently using it now. Heard from a ranger about an abomination that she created. If killed, she melts into the ground and rumours is, then brought back to life again. Has Zevram not told you?" Aldryn asked surprised.
"This is what Zevram wanted to speak with me about?" Ylvis then wondered, "He did call out to me a while ago, but then postponed our meeting because something happened in the forest."
"What happened?" Aldryn then tried to think of anything more important than this piece of news.
"Apparently some Nalrits grew angry with the new spells that we put on the forest and tried to burn it. I offered my help, but Zevram said that he will deal with it himself. Even said that he sent a message up North with one of his falcons and asked for some water spells that he could use to protect the forest against the fire. Last I heard, he headed to the Circle of the Six Servants, looking for the water mages that they had that could help him lay down the enchantments that he received back. Was busy with them for the past month."
'Someone tried to burn the cursed forest? I mean... It's not called cursed for nothing' the blonde thought upon hearing the news.
Being satisfied with the fire that now burned and the heat it emitted, Ylvis then went and took a seat on the old couch that stood not far from the fireplace. It was made out wood and covered from all sides with soft material sewn into a cloth that covered it. The shadows played on his face with every flicker.
"What do you think about it?", the blonde then hesitated and took a seat opposite of his brother.
"The necromancy? Or her newly found insanity?" Ylvis then asked amused, but then the smile disappeared, "There is something else", he said, "Something you are not telling me."
'Why does it seems that the younger the new Apostle is, the more secrets they like to keep' the oracle of Earth wondered pitifully, 'Ahh... Must be a youngster thing... Thinking that they can solve everything by themselves.'
"Two things actually. First, the ranger that we met was not exactly human, but he is an old friend of mine. He said that that woman that he saw with Shyra felt like Klyran."
"The Ryan? You think…" Ylvis wished to say more, but his throat simply closed up.
'No way!' he exclaimed in his mind, 'There is no was that Ryans are simply roaming around this Earth and nobody noticed until now' the older man decided with a nod.
"Do you remember when you and Zevram said that she disappeared?" Aldryn asked, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Old stories speak of various cracks that are scattered around the world, connecting us to the beyond", the blonde sheepishly said.
"You think she found one and went to Klyran's world? Found the remains of one of his kin and then came back?", the priest of Earth tried to say, "But those things have dire consequences, there will be a rebound to her actions."
Then, his eyes hardened and he looked at the blonde man that stood near him. In his eyes, no matter how many years passed, Aldryn always reminded him of a small child. He was one of the few Priests of Light that he knew before he was graced with the powers of an oracle. He still remembered the human Aldryn, the small child who visited his mines decades ago with his family.
"The waterfall of light" he whispered and the blonde simply nodded, "You think that her actions caused the rift to open."
"And the fact that Klyran is here in the first place, it seems too much to be a coincidence", Aldryn tried to explain, but was quickly interrupted.
"No" Ylvis nearly snapped, "The Kenman. When he spoke with me a few days ago, he seemed different. As if it was not him speaking at all. But nevertheless, his words always held truth to them. He said that the world is on the brink of awakening, that a war greater than ever is coming. A war, where all the races ever to exist will either come together, or destroy each other. Where the maker of our Will shall return and bring his kin back, to defend this world once again."
Despite knowing that the Kenman often said strange words, he could not help but feel dread setting upon his heart.
"Is that... a Prophecy?" Aldryn asked the fox.
"Most likely" it agreed, "A war greater than ever... The maker or our Will... That's the Great Ryan God... Maybe Klyran's presence here truly is no coincidence."
"Stop!" the blonde snapped in his mind, "I don't want to hear it" he told it in his mind on the verge of tears, "I heard two prophecies in my life. One says that I will die because of you, while another is about the end of the world. Why can't those things be about... I don't know... good stuff?" he complained.
"Well... You humans call those who tell the "Good Stuff" Fortune Tellers and not Prophets" the fox silently laughed.
"The maker of our will. In stories, the Ryan was the one who granted the humans the concept of free will", the blonde begun to say after finishing the conversation with the Thrae.
"Exactly", Ylvis nodded, "So you coming here with a creature that I never saw before, despite my long years of living. And the Kenman's words about the Ryan's return, it was an easy guess", making Aldryn flinch, which went unnoticed by the other apostle.
"Whatever it is that Shyra is up to", the priest of Earth begun to speak again, "Don't make rash decisions Aldryn, not before you see the full picture."
"Thank you Ylvis", the blonde then said sincerely.
"What is the other thing that you wished to say?" the older man tilted his head.
"The ranger", he said with hesitation, "He said that all priests have a special power", he waved his arms, as if wishing to make a point, "And that Shyra discovered hers... The ability to amplify dark emotions."
"True", Ylvis nodded, "Each one of us has something special, unique. But I cannot teach you that. It's something that you must discover on your own", he gave a sad smile, regretting that he could not offer more help.
'So he can't help me' Aldryn sighed sadly, 'I wonder what my special skill is... I hope it's something cool' he then thought with a grin.
"Cool... You know... A smarter person would hope for something useful" the fox said with a sigh after reading his thoughts.
"Shut up" he told it.
"What's you skill?" the Oracle of Light then asked excitedly, like a small child.
The question caused even the fox to go quiet, listening to hear the answer.
"Well...", Ylvis begun to say.
'We are not really supposed to share this skill with each other... But...' the Oracle of Earth looked at the younger man and his bright, childish eyes and could not help but cave in.
"You are not supposed to say this to anyone... So make sure to keep this a secret" he told the blonde and waved his finger, as if he was speaking with a child. In reply, Aldryn nodded his head with such a force that Ylvis even feared that his neck might snap.
"Okay..." he then said with a smile, "My skill is called "Heir of Steel" is allows me to "Awaken" of a sort... A skill in a weapon" he explained.
"A skill in a weapon?!" the blonde exclaimed.
"Yup" Ylvis grinned, "But the skill is completely random and I can only use it once, or twice at most, per month."
At this information, Aldryn could not help but glance at his spear.
"What skill do you think we could get?" he asked the fox in excitement.
"Don't get too excited" it mocked him, "He never offered to awaken a skill for your weapon."
At that, the blonde's mood plummeted. He looked at Ylvis with glassy eyes, caused the other man's heart to throb painfully.
'I knew I shouldn't have told him' he sighed.
"All right!" he exclaimed, "Just this once..." he waved his finger, "I will awaken that spear of yours later today."
With a happy nod, they stood silent for some time, then, suddenly they heard a knock. They turned their heads to the direction of the noise and saw Klyran standing there, looking curiously at the two of them.